Rence



A. J-. UPHAM.

BARB WIRE FENCE.

No. 261,185. Patented Ju1y18,1882.

mwseq m PET-EH5. mmumn w, Wahln ANDREW J. UPHAM, OF

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STERLING, ILLINOIS, AS SIGNOR TO JOHN H. LAW- RENCE, OF SAME PLACE.

BARB-WIRE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 261,185, dated July 18, 1882.

Application filed December 12, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ANDREW J. UPHAM, of Sterling, in the countyof Whiteside and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Barb-Wire Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wire-fence panel having this barb. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, eplarged, of the barb. Fig. 3 is aperspective view, enlarged, of the two parts of the barb.

This invention relates to improvements in barbed-wire fences, more particularly to those in which the barbs have four points extending in different directions.

Heretofore these barbs have been made by slipping a staple over the fence-cable, twisting an auxiliary wire about said staple, and securing the two by bending the ends of the staple outward,bindin g the parts together. In

' efficiency on the other, which renders the device difiicult to secure in place and liable to work off if either becomes loosened. There has also been devised a construction in which the main part of the barb is so far independent of the auxiliary wire that it need not fall oft of the cable in case the said auxiliary wire becomes broken but in such latter construction the auxiliary wire passes through the loop of the main part of the barb, and its ends are turned in the same direction and about only one strand of the cable. In this device the auxiliary wire does not act as a keeper to hold the main part in its normal position, for either might easily be twisted around the cable, and the points, instead of being presented so as to strike an impacted object, would point vertically and be of little use. Furthermore, slipalong the cable is allowed, with consequent displacement of the parts.

It is the object of the present invention to obviate these difficulties, and to produce a barb in which, though composed of two' parts, the main one is measurably independent of the other, does not need the latter to secure it in place, in case of the latters loss will not drop from its position, and yet the parts are so thoroughly united and bound that all danger of turning or end-slippin g is prevented.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter set forth and specifically claimed. In the annexed drawings, the letter A designates a fence-cable consisting of two twisted strands, forming at intervals openings or loops a, at which are placed the barbs. A piece of wire, b, is placed across the cable at the loop and bent around the same, so that the ends I) b are made to pass across each other and project beyond opposite sides of the cable. This effectually holds the wire I) on the cable without any danger of being dropped therefrom. Another piece of wire, 0, is then placed so as to cross one of the ends I), and passed over the looped portion of wire b, through the loop a, and brought out again on the other side of the cable, so that said piece 0 has a position such that its ends 0 project at right angles to the points I), or that the lines of the two sets of points are arranged transversely. By this construction the piece 0 acts as a keeper simply to hold the piece b in its normal position, and not to keep the said piece on the cable. The piece 0 is placed into position and secured there without any need of changing the construction or arrangement of the piece I). This latter piece maintains its location on the cable without assistance from the piece 0, and if the latter be lost the said piece b would still remain and present an efficient two-pointed barb.

What I claim is- The cable A, consisting of two twisted strands, forming a loop, a, in combination with the main part b of the barb, which is bent around, the cable at the loop, the ends I) b passing each other and projecting beyond opposite sides of the cable, and the auxiliary part or keeper 0, which crosses one of the ends 1), passes over the looped portion of part b, through the loop a, and out on the other side of the cable A, the position being such that the two sets of points I) and c are at right angles, whereby is formed a barb in which the parts are firmly interlocked against displacement, and yet one would hold if the other were lost all as hereinbefore set forth and explaiued.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of December, 1879.

ANDREW J. UPHAM. Witnesses:

L. A. DILLER, E. F. LAWRENCE. 

